Christ Figures in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet as Christ Figures

Introduction and Modern Interpretations

Modern audiences have been reintroduced to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet largely through modern film reinterpretations of the play. Many of these films, most notably Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet and John Madden’s 1998 Shakespeare in Love, have focused on the tragic destiny of these "two star-crossed lovers". Seemingly, it is the destiny of Romeo and Juliet to commit suicide because they are not allowed to love each other. It’s the kind of dramatic story that makes teenage hearts swoon: pure love, passionate love, forbidden love. And while the passionate romance of young Capulet and young Montague is essential to the play, it is by no means the only way to understand Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately, many students are first exposed to this particular work early in high school, an age at which the issue of love resonates more powerfully than many other of life’s concerns. After this initial exposure in high school, most students do not return to Romeo and Juliet except in films, which again, cater to youth. This particular emphasis, along with the use of young and attractive headliners, explains the success with young audiences of the 1996 film version. The film interpretations of this work along with the early initial exposure make it rather easy for a current reader to dismiss the play as just a love story.

Unfortunately, this reductionist view of the play makes it much less viable for older audiences who have usually developed a more complex understanding of love than the one presented in these films. Love is, after all, usually not so idealistic or reckless. Understanding Romeo and Juliet as a love story is reasonabl...

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...uliet] love that leads to all the agony. It is the devilish and sinful animosity between the houses of Capulet and Montague. Love enobles, purifies, redeems, even though it lead to sacrifice"(36). The functions prescribed to Romeo and Juliet are those that are quite worthy of Christ – purifying and redeeming.

Works Cited

Morrison, George H. Christ in Shakespeare. Glasgow: Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc, 1931.

Murray, Barbara A. “The Butt of Otway’s Political Moral in The History and Fall of Caius Marius.” Notes and Queries 36 (1989): 49-50.

Sacks, David H. "Political Culture." A Companion to Shakespeare. Ed. David Scott Kastan. Blackwell Publishers, 1999. 118-136.

Vyvyan, John. Shakespeare and Platonic Beauty. London: Chatto & Windus, 1961.

Wallace, John M “Otway’s Caius Marius and the Exclusion Crisis.” Modern Philology 85, (1988). 363-372.